After a laboured 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijon, Barcelona's Gerard Pique admitted his side needed Lionel Messi.
Pique commented to journalists after the match that the Argentina maestro's absence meant that Barcelona missed a certain flair in attack.
He said: "The three points were very important, as if you want to compete with the teams above you in the table you have to defeat the teams such as Sporting.
"It is clear that some teams come to the Camp Nou to shut up shop, something that their home fans would not allow them to do."
The World Cup winner was adament that his side could still win without Messi, but the team would have to put in more effort.
"The challenge is to always win, with or without Leo [Messi]", Pique added.
"It is true that without Messi, everything becomes more complicated, but we have players who can replace him. He wants to return as soon as possible, whether we win or not, but we need to let him recover, the season is long and we need him."
Messi is still unavailable over the weekend in their next fixture against Athletic Bilbao.
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